Sketch-Journaling

Sketch Journaling is a magical tool that offers us a range of experiences:

A way to slow down, focus, be fully present

An avenue to self-discovery through intuitive marks

A peaceful and exciting journey–internal or external–with our subject matter

A deeply personal way to record our experience any given moment of the day or night

A unique, personalized memory of a travel experience that, by sketching, is embedded in our muscle memory.

Both of these courses offer a safe, playful environment, for those who don’t consider themselves “artists” as well as those who do.

Sketch-Journaling Your Internal World

July 2017

Wednesdays 9:30-12:30 in my Santa Fe studio

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.”–Marcel Proust

Have you ever been at a cross roads and not known which direction to head? Have you found yourself feeling out of balance with no real clue as to why? Are you wanting to have a deeper, more intuitive and creative experience of your daily life? Are you moved by what you see and feel any given moment of the day and wish you could record the importance of your experience in some personal way? Sketch-Journaling is a course for you. Offered for beginning as well as accomplished drawers, we’ll explore techniques for getting to know your internal world via your pen and sketch book.

“Sketching is not about doing “good” drawings or paintings. It is about being in the moment, about putting aside expectations and judgment and letting the hand record what the eyes see with whatever tool you have available, without rules or recipes.” Mari Le Glatin Keis, The art of Travel with a Sketchbook

Are you deeply moved by what you see and feel when traveling? Do you wish you could tell the story of your travel adventure using art? One doesn’t need to be an accomplished artist to capture a mood or memory in a quick gesture drawing or wash of color. All it really takes is the willingness to relax and play. Collage, colored pencils, pastels, or watercolor, the tools are less important than the desire to enjoy yourself and experiment. To sketch what we see and feel, we have to slow down, look carefully, and really be with what is before us. We take the scene into our bodies through our fingertips and create a visual image of a sensory experience.

Our intent is to capture what it feels like to be where we are, not to record the scene perfectly. Drawing becomes a personal exploration that is freeing and fun. When you keep a sketch journal while on your trip, you can savor the story of your experiences long after you’re home. You will be surprised at how vividly the memories will return as you peruse your journal.
Take home a memento that will extend the experience in a way that only making art can. Over the week we’ll explore the environs at and around Ghost Ranch, including the picturesque village of El Rito, the Chama River, and the Santuario at Chimayo. Before each drawing excursion, we’ll discuss techniques to increase your skill and answer questions of how to draw what you see, perspective, composition, and capturing emotion with color. Included in the course are a hardbound drawing book, pen, brush and paints, in a handy carrying satchel. A list of additional tools for collage will be provided upon registration.

If you are afraid of art-making but you desire it, this course is especially for you. Together we’ll make a safe, inviting place to explore the visual story of your New Mexico journey.